The relationship between perceptions of instruction quality, intrinsic motivation, and reading achievement: a longitudinal analysis

This study including 3,089 students from 173 secondary schools explored the changes in students’ perception of classroom management and goal clarity throughout early adolescence (Grades 5 to 9) and its relationship with learning outcomes such as intrinsic motivation and school grade in reading. The results revealed: 1) Students’ perception of instruction quality, intrinsic motivation and school grade decreased over the years; 2) intrinsic motivation influenced classroom management perception, whereas the relationships between the classroom management perception and school grade were reciprocal; 3) the influence of goal clarity perception on intrinsic motivation changed over the years, and a positive influence on outcomes was only observed between Grades 8 and 9; 4) there were different results between male and female students as well as between academic and vocational tracks. The findings have implications for understanding the possible contextual factors related to the decrease in learning outcomes for reading in secondary schools.